ISIS militants.
Photo: AP
Concerns over ISIS' cyber capabilities on the rise
New video from Islamic State threatens US soldiers, displays Hollywood-style production value; NSA Chief: 'I'm watching' ISIS' use of technology.
In an apparent response to US President Barack Obama's newly announced strategy to
degrade the Islamic State (ISIS), the group released Tuesday one of its most highly produced video's yet, raising further concerns regarding their use of social media technology, and even the possibility of cyber warfare against the US and other targets.
The clip entitled 'Flames of War Trailer' was first reported on by the New York Times who wrote that the video suggested that ISIS plans to attack and kill American ground forces in the case they were deployed against the group.
The 52 second video is complete with slow motion effects worthy of any Hollywood studio and shows exploding American tanks and Islamic State militants apparently preparing to execute captives before the words "Flames of War" flash on the screen followed by "Fighting has just begun."
As the Islamic State's effective use of social media as a recruiting tool and fear tactic becomes more apparent, US officials are preparing for a fight on the technological front as well as the military battlefield.
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"We need to assume that there will be a cyber dimension increasingly in almost any scenario that we're dealing with," NSA Chief Admiral Mike Rogers said at a cybersecurity conference in Washington.
"Counterterrorism is no different. Clearly, ISIL has been very aggressive in the use of media, in the use of technology, in the use of the Internet. It's something I'm watching," he said, using an acronym for the group.
Asked whether the Sunni Muslim group was planning cyber attacks on US interests, Rogers said he could not discuss specifics of the organization's technical capabilities.
US President Barack Obama laying out his strategy against ISIS. (Photo: AFP)
Islamic State, which controls large swaths of Iraq and Syria, has also posted carefully choreographed beheading videos online, trumpeted its violent acts on Twitter and used social media to recruit foreign Islamists to the fight.
"Its public messaging and social media is as slick and as effective as any I've ever seen from a terrorist organization," Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York last week.
The group's capabilities beyond using YouTube and Facebook are less clear.
Cybersecurity expert James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies said he did not think Islamic State posed any immediate cyber threat to American interests.
ISIS militants in a Humvee captured from the Iraqi Army. (Photo: AP)
"They'd need a connection to the Syrians, Iranians or the Russians, and that's unlikely to happen," Lewis said. "They're also nuts and cyber doesn't scratch the itch."
While there may be no imminent or specific cyber threat from Islamic State, there is a wide-ranging intent to damage the West, a congressional aide said. Different jihadist groups have talked about launching cyber attacks and it may be just a matter of time before they find someone capable of doing it, the aide said on condition of anonymity.
Rogers, speaking generally on how cybersecurity threats are proliferating across all aspects of American life, said: "There is nothing but increased activity out there."
As Pentagon officials told Congress on Tuesday they were preparing for a longer-term campaign against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, Rogers said cyber defense was a long-haul effort.
The US Cyber Command he leads hopes to have 6,200 cyber employees by 2016 to detect and deflect such threats, and Rogers urged greater cooperation on cybersecurity between government, business and industry.
"There are a lot of groups out there - individuals, nation-states - who feel that this is an area worth investing in, because it achieves positive outcomes for them if they can penetrate systems," Rogers said at the Billington Cybersecurity Summit.
"This is not a small problem and it's not one that's going to go away."
Reuters contributed to this report.
